 Poster: A snowHead
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For anyone heading to 3V in the near future;
We've just had our first day in Courchevel. There are a few bits open above C-1650, but cannot ski back down to village or ski over to C-1850.
About 1/3 of the runs and lifts are open above C-1850, but they are running pretty hard with some artificial on top. The snow from the dumps a week or so ago is disappearing and even the runs open have lots of stones and grass coming through. Best run by far is the Combe de Saulire.
Tonight is pretty damp and warm; meant to be snowing a bit overnight and getting much colder next week. But they need a big dump and fast. The webcams may look white, but it's not that great to ski on and there's plenty of brown around on the ground.
heading over to Meribel Mottaret tomorrow (we have a car) so will update afterwards.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Has the season started anywhere in France - properly that is
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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A reporter on one of the French snow sites says that today there was little snow at Val Thorens even at 2300m and that below 2000m the south facing slopes were practically bare. 
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Nice report.
ValTho was reporting 50 - 60% of its ski area open today (Sun). That is pretty good, considering the deteriorating snow conditions.
Meteo France is modeling the snowline at roughly 2000m for South-facing slopes, up from around 800m in less than 10 days.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Met up with Toffa from latania.co.uk today - he said no problem in pasting their report here to help keep people informed. It's just been updated at 01:35 Monday morning! They seem pretty hard core so a different view point to the holiday skier I guess.
Poor visibility today but for those Scottish skiers it's not too bad really - they open lifts with a heavy frost! You can ski down to Meribel and over across to Mottaret (or gondola down from the half way station on the Saulire side) so no need for a car (yet....).
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latania.co.uk report:
After a great day on Saturday with some superb piste skiing with blue skies, empty slopes and smooth, groomed pistes (especially Creux and Saulire and decent runs down to Méribel and Méribel Village) Sunday was a warm, overcast day with low cloud and poor visibility most of the time.
Snow had softened up considerably and quite a few more people were about which cut up the runs quite a bit. Chenus ripped down to 1850 when clouds moved every now and again. We didn't venture over to the far side of Mottaret today but good reports on the runs around Cote Brune on the way up to Val Thorens were heard in the pub tonight (although poor vis most of the time).
The La Tania blue and red down to the top of the gondola (like mid-way down) are open, had fairly good cover and skied well. The Folyeres blue though the forest down to La Tania is still officially closed but those that ducked under the ropes experienced a wonderful run down after pisteurs had been working on the run all night - it's only the last 100 metres that have lost some cover but you can pick yourself down ok.
According to some of the old school here it's because the ground has been so warm that stones haven't been forced to the surface and we were surprised how few of those awful scraping rock against ski/board noises we heard today. Some of the same runs in late April often feel like they're covered in gravel.
A little covering of snow high up tonight and drizzle at resort level but nothing significant happening so far. Predictions for Christmas Eve/Day snow are what people are hanging on to at the moment.
To sum up there's still some good and extensive skiing in the Three Valleys with surprisingly good cover on many pistes but it's still fairly quiet of course and the busy Christmas and New Year weeks do need some more snow or low temperatures to get the snow cannons working at full throttle. Some pistes such as Chanrossa, around the Creux bowl and high up above 1650 are groomed and prepared - looks like they're saving them for next week. A few people are moaning but those that get out there are generally having a good time - we all did today and it's certainly not as bad as some of the doom merchants are saying, there's been a lot worse starts to the season, so drop in and go hard.........
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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I was looking at the snow fall figures on the official Courchevel web site. They say that there have been 75 cms of snow at Saulire (by 17 December) this year. In the FULL month of December in the last four years the figures are shown as 2005/06 - 121 cms; 2004/05 - 108 cms; 2003/04 - 85 cms and 2002/03 84 cms. So just one more decent fall in the next fortnight will bring this year well up above the average for the last five years. Admittedly, this does not take account of the warm weather, warm ground and inability to make artificial snow on many days. But it doesn't seem the disaster that is being portrayed in some places - and it's still only the very start of the season.
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| Sayrhead wrote: |
| But it doesn't seem the disaster that is being portrayed in some places - and it's still only the very start of the season. |
hmmmmm
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| Sayrhead wrote: |
| I was looking at the snow fall figures on the official Courchevel web site. They say that there have been 75 cms of snow at Saulire (by 17 December) this year. In the FULL month of December in the last four years the figures are shown as 2005/06 - 121 cms; 2004/05 - 108 cms; 2003/04 - 85 cms and 2002/03 84 cms. So just one more decent fall in the next fortnight will bring this year well up above the average for the last five years. Admittedly, this does not take account of the warm weather, warm ground and inability to make artificial snow on many days. But it doesn't seem the disaster that is being portrayed in some places - and it's still only the very start of the season. |
Snow depths are mostly fine above roughly 2000 - 2500m (Saulire falls into that category). It is the slopes and resorts below that level which are really suffering.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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i just got back from Courcheval and can concurr the snow was excellent at the combe du saulire, also the plattiers section of mottaret was good with more pistes opening yesterday.
off piste was good just on the sides of the pistes but too many rocks sticking out for any real off piste skiing.
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OK - point about altitude taken. And there is evidence that the problems at 1850 are greater. Just 36 cms in the 17 days of December at resort level compared to FULL month figures of 116 cms in 2005/06; 84 cms in 2004/05; 55 cms in 2003/04 and 57 cms in 2002/03. But the figures could still get up to the heights of 3/4 years ago quite easily.
But I am not out there (yet) - and bow to the local knowledge (and scepticism about my view) of davidof.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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> But I am not out there (yet) - and bow to the local knowledge (and scepticism about my view) of davidof.
what did I say ?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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But I am not out there (yet) - and bow to the local knowledge (and scepticism about my view) of davidof.
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Yep, anyone willing to skin to 2800m then tell us what the conditions are (and tell us to take hiking boots) has my vote. I have no wish to believe the worst, and scan these threads constantly for some sign of optimism from our amateur forecasters (the ones who use the science, not the wishful thinking) but there is little doubt that in most resorts, at most levels, conditions are poor and given the lack of snow in the forecast and the large numbers who will be on the pistes over Christmas and New Year, will get worse before they get better.
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| Sayrhead wrote: |
OK - point about altitude taken. And there is evidence that the problems at 1850 are greater. Just 36 cms in the 17 days of December at resort level compared to FULL month figures of 116 cms in 2005/06; 84 cms in 2004/05; 55 cms in 2003/04 and 57 cms in 2002/03. But the figures could still get up to the heights of 3/4 years ago quite easily.
But I am not out there (yet) - and bow to the local knowledge (and scepticism about my view) of davidof. |
With little or no snow in the 2-week forecast for Courchevel, it looks, at this stage, like total snowfall for Dec 2006 will come in around 50% below the 4-year average (78cm).
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You know it makes sense.
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| pam w wrote: |
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But I am not out there (yet) - and bow to the local knowledge (and scepticism about my view) of davidof.
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Yep, anyone willing to skin to 2800m then tell us what the conditions are (and tell us to take hiking boots) has my vote. I have no wish to believe the worst, and scan these threads constantly for some sign of optimism from our amateur forecasters (the ones who use the science, not the wishful thinking) but there is little doubt that in most resorts, at most levels, conditions are poor and given the lack of snow in the forecast and the large numbers who will be on the pistes over Christmas and New Year, will get worse before they get better. |
Agreed. It looks like the Holiday Season through to early Jan could be messy for some resorts.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Hi again,
We had 5-10 cm of snow overnight which has freshened up the pistes which were looking tired and worn. But won't have made any difference in the long/medium term. Much colder today and Meribel had lots of snow cannons on. it is possible to ski down to Mottarets from the VT side, but only half way down from the courchevel side. They were quoting 30/40 cm on the boards. Given the lack of snow, the pisteurs have done a very good job with little ammunition. One flash of optimism is that some pistes look in good condition but are closed-it looks like they are holding them back for next week.
But there is some excellent skiing above 2200 m or so, particularly from the VT ridge around the Cote Brun and Platieres lifts. Run of the day was Col de la Chambre!
Very poos vis in the valley though.
VT tomorrow!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Has turned colder. La Tania (1400m) snow cannons finally turned on at resort level tonight for what may be the first time...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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They're doing a great job across the 3 valleys with lots of snow making and good grooming. At the moment, by far the best skiing is above Les Menuires, followed by Val Thorens. Most 3 valleys links are now open, though Courcheval 1650 is still only reachable by bus, and St Martin de Belleville likewise - otherwise, all areas are accessible, though some require going down in a gondola.
Given the lack of real snow, there's plenty available - almost every lift in Val T seemed to be working, with some new ones opened from yesterday, including in the 4th valley. Still tends to be one or two runs off most lifts rather than all 3 or 4, but we skied all day yesterday witthout taking the same lift twice: that's what you pay for a 3 valleys pass for.
Tip if you want free internet access: L'Equipe bar in Courcheval 1850 has open wifi - fairly central. Must dash to catch bus back to 1650
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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yellow salopettes, Welcome to snowHeads  .
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Tip if you want free internet access: L'Equipe bar in Courcheval 1850 has open wifi
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as does the Maison de Moriond in 1650.
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